A dear friend is under Satanic attack. Please pray that this person is protected and delivered from this, and provided with the strength and courage to resist the temptations of the devil and to instead do the Lord's will when making some important and difficult decisions. Thank you!

2nd Sunday of Lent - a sermon

From WDTPRS:

"Here is a sermon for the 2nd Sunday of Lent (2002 Missale Romanum)"

09-03-08 2nd Sunday of Lent - sermon: Download

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Divine Mercy

Please pray for Swissmiss and her son:

"Now my son has walking pneumonia. I have no idea how he got it because with me being sick lately, he hasn't really gone anywhere.

Please keep us all in your prayers...a Chaplet of Divine Mercy would be wonderful!!"

St. Monica's Kneeler

Former Episcopal bishop discusses his new life as Catholic priest

"For Father Steenson, the role of the pope as the successor of St. Peter, the servant of church unity and the guarantor of the church's fidelity to tradition was key to his decision.

"It is not negative things that turned me to the Catholic Church," he said. "I just felt God saying, 'It's time.'"

The time came, he said, in 2007 when he felt the bishops of the Episcopal Church had decided to give priority to their autonomy rather than to unity with the larger Anglican Communion.

Father Steenson said that for him gay people were not the issue. "It was the way the decisions were made and the way they were defended," placing the local church and modern cultural sensitivities ahead of the universal church and fidelity to tradition, he said.

The priest said that while the Episcopal Church spoke of the importance of Christian unity, it continued to approve practices -- ordaining women priests and bishops, ordaining homosexuals and blessing same-sex unions -- that everyone knew would be an obstacle to Christian unity.

"The frustration with being a Protestant is that every morning you get up and have to reinvent the church all over again," Father Steenson said..."

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Sola Scriptura

From Fr. Longenecker:

"A reader has asked me to elaborate further on the problems with the Protestant doctrine of Sola Scriptura:

1. Protestants like to blame Catholics for promoting non-Biblical, human created, late invented doctrines, but sola Scriptura--on which the entire edifice of Protestantism is based--is a doctrine unheard of until the sixteenth century. It is a doctrine invented by the Reformers and it is a doctrine with no Biblical basis. Ask a Protestant to defend sola Scriptura from Scripture and he can't. There are a few proof texts that uphold Scripture as 'profitable for doctrine, reproof etc' but none teach the doctrine of Scripture alone.

2. Even if you could prove sola Scriptura from Scripture it would be a circular argument. "The Bible is the inspired Word of God and our only authority." "Where does it say that?" "In the Bible." "How do you know the Bible is true?" "Because the Bible says it is and we know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is true." "How do you know that?" "Because its in the Bible." And so on....and on..."

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"What is wrong with this picture?"

From ORBIS CATHOLICVS:

"What used to be excised even a few years ago is now accepted.

This photo was taken in the most popular childrens' book shop in Rome. When I complained to the employee she looked at me like a donkey.

Looking for a kids book for some relatives, I entered and found mostly rows of childrens' books on sorcery, wizard craft, vampire and cannibal interests, Soviet bonk and even this "sex" book on the lower right.

Support all families who homeschool their kids and expunge anything like this that might have found its way into your sacred home."

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• Pound Fr. Finigan
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Brad Pitt, Pelosi discuss "Make it Right" in Washington

• Pitt of Vipers
  
• Brad Pitt, Pelosi discuss "Make it Right" in Washington

Via Crucis on Mount Carmel

From BloggingLourdes:

[click to enlarge]

"I recommend enlarging this picture and taking a good look at the faces. You might not see many of them after the first few stations. It’s all a bit dramatic, more so than the Via Crucis to be found in Jerusalem, though the one in Jerusalem is where it all happened, which is awesome, yes… but here, there is something else at work… Follow along over the next couple of weeks with the prayers of, for instance, Cardinal Ratzinger just before he became Pope. Those can be found here and then HERE."

Vatican picks Nazareth as venue for papal mass

By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent

The large mass that Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate during his May visit to Israel will be held in Nazareth, and not in Haifa, as had been proposed.

Haaretz has learned that the Vatican made the decision last weekend following a visit by a Vatican delegation that met here with representatives of the two cities. The Christian historical associations with Nazareth tipped the scales in its favor despite some Vatican preference for Haifa.

Israel was notified Sunday about the plans for the mass, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of worshipers, although a formal announcement of the pope's visit and his schedule are only expected next week.

Speaking to Haaretz, Nazareth Mayor Ramez Jeraisi confirmed the details regarding the Vatican's decision on the venue of the mass, and said the city has begun making arrangements for the visit. The mayor indicated that Precipice Mountain will be the venue for the mass; it was prepared for such an event in 2000, when John Paul II visited Israel.

Jeraisi said he met Monday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other officials, and that Nazareth was promised government help for the papal visit, including an allocation from the state budget.

The Nazareth municipality had been concerned about a possible Vatican preference for holding the mass in Haifa as the government believed Nazareth lacked the appropriate facilities. "We are pleased," Jeraisi said, "that in the end the Vatican took the correct and proper decision from our point of view, because no one can deny the status of Nazareth, and we will do whatever we can to ensure the visit and the mass will take place as they should, with the utmost success."

Vatican adviser Wadia Abu Nasser, who will accompany the pope on his visit, said the pope is scheduled to land at Ben-Gurion International Airport on May 11. The mass in Nazareth will take place on the 14th. The Vatican envoy in Israel will announce further details about the visit in the near future.

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The Newt Evangelization: Gingrich to become Catholic

From The Deacon's Bench:

"Buried deep inside this long and wonkish profile of Newt Gingrich in Sunday's New York Times, was this little nugget that, I suspect, went largely unnoticed:

At a moment when the role of religious fundamentalism in the party is a central question for reformers, Gingrich, rather than making any kind of case for a new enlightenment, has in fact gone to great lengths to placate Christian conservatives. The family-values crowd has never completely embraced Newt, probably because he has been married three times, most recently to a former Hill staff member, Callista Bisek. In 2006, though, Gingrich wrote a book called “Rediscovering God in America” — part of a new canon of work he has done reaffirming the role of religion in public life. The following year, he went on radio with the evangelical minister James Dobson to apologize for having been unfaithful to his second wife. (A Baptist since graduate school, Gingrich said he will soon convert to Catholicism, his wife’s faith.)"

PHOTO: by Nigel Parry for the New York Times.

Posted by Deacon Greg Kandra

Father Steven Scheier

Arnold Bocklin c.1841

Holy Father recalls importance of angels in the life of Christ

Vatican City, Mar 1, 2009 / 10:04 am (CNA).- Pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday to pray the Angelus prayer at noon with Pope Benedict XVI. In his remarks, the Pontiff spoke of the importance of angels and also prayed for those struggling in uncertain financial times.

The topic of discussion was prompted by the Pope's commentary on the Gospel of today, the First Sunday of Lent. The Gospel of Mark notes that angels "ministered to" Jesus in the desert. "The angels are the counterpoint of Satan," the Holy Father explained.

After detailing the presence of angels in the Old and New Testament, Benedict XVI noted, "The angels ministered to Jesus, who is certainly superior to them, and his dignity is here proclaimed in the Gospel in a clear but discreet way." He added: "In fact, even in the situation of extreme poverty and humility, when he is tempted by Satan, Jesus remains the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lord."

The Pontiff continued by reaffirming the importance of prayer to angels, "messengers of God," and by asking for prayers to them on behalf of himself and the Roman Curia, who today begin their Lenten spiritual exercises.

The Holy Father then acknowledged the difficult global economic times as he greeted workers from a Fiat automobile factory near Naples, Italy. He noted that they had come "to demonstrate their concern over the future of that factory and of the thousands of people who, directly or indirectly, depend on it for work."

"I join," he said, "the bishops and the respective local Churches in expressing my nearness to the families affected by this problem, and I entrust them in prayer to protection of Mary Most Holy and of St. Joseph, patron of workers." He added: "I wish to express my encouragement to the authorities, both political and civil, and also to business owners, so that this delicate moment can be addressed with the cooperation of all. There is a need, in fact, for a strong common effort, recalling that the priority must be given to workers and their families."

Pope Benedict also greeted English-speaking visitors present at today's Angelus. He told them: "On this First Sunday of Lent, the Gospel of Saint Mark speaks of Jesus being lead into the desert by the Holy Spirit, tempted by Satan and assisted by the angels. Let us pray that our Lenten journey will strengthen us in the struggle against all forms of temptation. Upon all of you I invoke God’s abundant blessings, and I wish you a pleasant Sunday and a happy stay in Rome!"

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Call to Action

• ‘Holy Grail of Comic Books’

Msgr. Guido Marini on the Liturgy, Its Forms and Its Importance

From NLM:

In an interview with L'Osservatore Romano, you have highlighted the key changes since taking the post of Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations. Could you recall and explain what I mean?

I was just saying that the changes to which you refer are to be understood as a sign of a development in continuity with the recent past, and I remember one in particular: the location of the cross at the center of the altar. This positioning has the ability to confer, also by external sign, the proper orientation at the time of the celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy, that the celebrant and the assembly do not look upon each other but together turn toward the Lord. As well, the unity of the altar and cross together can better show forth, together with convivial appearance, the sacrificial dimension of the Mass, whose significance is always essential, I would say it springs from it, and therefore, always needs to find a visible expression in the rite.

We have noticed that the Holy Father, for some time, now always gives Holy Communion upon the tongue and kneeling. Does he want this to serve as an example for the whole Church, and an encouragement for the faithful to receive our Lord with greater devotion?

As we know the distribution of Holy Communion in the hand remains still, from a legal point of view, an exception [indult] to the universal law, granted by the Holy See to the bishops conferences who so request it. Every believer, even in the presence of an exception [indult], has the right to choose the way in which they will receive Communion. Benedict XVI, began to distribute Communion on the tongue and kneeling on the occasion of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi last year, in full consonance with the provisions of the current liturgical law, perhaps intending to emphasize a preference for this method. One can imagine the reason for this preference: it shines more light on the truth of the real presence in the Eucharist, it helps the devotion of the faithful, and to introduce with greater readiness the sense of mystery.

The Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum" is presented as the most important activity in the papacy of Benedict XVI. What is your opinion?

I do not know whether it is the most important but it certainly is an important document. It is not only so because it is a very significant step towards a reconciliation within the Church, not only because it expresses the desire to arrive at a mutual enrichment between the two forms of the Roman Rite, the ordinary and extraordinary, but also because it is the precise indication, in law and liturgy, of that theological continuity which the Holy Father has presented as the only correct hermeneutic for reading and understanding of the life of the Church and, especially, of Vatican II...

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Bishop Fellay: apology "an important step"

Sat Feb 28, 2009 6:32pm GMT

Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the ultra-conservative Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) told a German weekly that the apology from British Bishop Richard Williamson, also a member of SSPX, was honest.

"It is a first request for forgiveness and an important step in the right direction," Fellay told Der Spiegel...

Fellay reiterated that Williamson had damaged the SSPX and sought to put distance between himself and the bishop.

Asked why the SSPX did not exclude Williamson, Fellay said:

"If he denies the Holocaust again, that will happen. It is probably better if he stays quiet and stays in a corner somewhere." He added it was, in his view, unlikely that the Vatican would excommunicate Williamson again.

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Crucifixion

(photo credit)

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Stamford CT

• Stained Glass Splendor
  

Last Night's Convergence of the Moon and Venus

From WDTPRS:

• Everything that rises...

Meditate

"Jesus told me that I please Him best
by meditating on His sorrowful Passion,
and by such meditation
much light falls upon the soul."

Saint Maria Faustina

• Holy Cards for Your Inspiration

Meltdowns, detachment and the future - part II

From Fr. James Farfaglia:

"As I wrote last week, we all know that upheaval and collapse are all around us. The structures that have given us support are falling apart. Most people no longer find support from their families. It is difficult to find a true friend. Most parishes are dysfunctional. Our country has been taken over. We are living in a dictatorship of the liberal elite. Institutions that provided a lot of hope for many people are in meltdown mode.

Pride, arrogance, sin, corruption, denial and complicity all combine to cause the rise and the fall of nations, institutions and people.

Many innocent people get hurt. Many people are angry, anxious and discouraged.

The Church and the entire world are going through what St. John of the Cross called the dark night of the spirit.

In this time of intense spiritual warfare and purification, I would like to turn your attention to a text from a spiritual writer. The text is very important, although the author has written some things that were off the mark; nevertheless what he writes here is very important for our spiritual journey. The Holy Spirit is calling us to the desert. We need to be detached from all human support and immerse ourselves in God.

“Think of a life in which you depend on no one emotionally, so that no one has the power to make you happy or miserable anymore. You refuse to need any particular person or to be special to anyone or to call anyone your own. The birds of the air have their nests and the foxes have their holes, but you will have nowhere to rest your head in your journey through life. If you ever get to this state, you will at last know what it means to see with a vision that is clear and unclouded by fear or desire. Every word there is measured. To see at last with a vision that is clear and unclouded by fear or desire. You will know what it means to love. But to come to the land of love, you must pass through the pains of death, for to love persons means to die to the need for persons, and to be utterly alone.

How would you ever get there? By a ceaseless awareness, by the infinite patience and compassion you would have for a drug addict. By developing a taste for the good things in life to counter the craving for your drug. What good things? The love of work which you enjoy doing for the love of itself; the love of laughter and intimacy with people to whom you do not cling and on whom you do not depend emotionally but whose company you enjoy. It will also help if you take on activities that you can do with your whole being, activities that you so love to do that while you’re engaged in them success, recognition and approval simply do not mean a thing to you. It will help, too, if you return to nature. Send the crowds away, go up to the mountains and silently commune with trees and flowers and animals and birds, with sea and clouds and sky and stars…

At first this will seem unbearable. But it is only because you are unaccustomed to aloneness. If you manage to stay there for a while, the desert will suddenly blossom into love. Your heart will burst into song. And it will be springtime forever; the drug will be out; you’re free. Then you will understand what freedom is, what truth is, what God is. You will see, you will know beyond concepts and conditioning, addictions and attachments. Does that make sense?” (Anthony de Mello, Awareness pp. 173-174)

My dear friends, there is no doubt in my mind that we are in the middle of an intense period of purification. Everything around us is crumbling. Something new will emerge from the rubble. Pope Benedict has spoken about a Church which is smaller, but more faithful.

This is why I have been inviting you to incorporate into your spiritual life contemplative prayer. My Electronic Parish website has a new section on contemplative prayer that can help you to get started.

Satan has launched an intense attack on the Church; in fact he has launched an assault on the entire world. This is why a powerful spiritual life is so vital in order to persevere. Pray the Rosary every day.

Remember that the real name for Our Lady of Guadalupe is not Guadalupe. Her real name is Our Lady of “quatlasupe”. “Quatlasupe” is the Aztec word for “she who crushes the serpent”. Stay close to Mary. She will protect you.

Remember, use the sacramentals: holy water, blessed salt, miraculous medals and the St. Benedict medal. God has provided us with an arsenal of weapons to fight Satan.

“Put God’s armor on so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness of this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens. That is why you must rely on God’s armor, or you will not be able to put up any resistance when the worst happens, or have enough resources to hold your ground” (Ephesians 6: 1-13).
The world economy will continue to spin out of control. A corrupt and sinful people cannot sustain an ordered society. There will be further economic turmoil, maybe even a total collapse of the world economy. The President’s economic policy will not work.

The economy could fall quickly and loudly. There will be a moment of intense violence. Order will be imposed by a police state. Peace will emerge, but our world will change dramatically. We will be forced to return back to basics.

Gone will be the credit cards, the malls, corporations and a global economy. Gone will be the abortion industry, the contraception industry and the pornography industry. Gone will be the drug cartels. Gone will be the Trilateral Commission, the Council of Foreign Relations, the Bildenbergers, the World Bank and the United Nations. Gone will be the corruption within the Catholic Church – entire religious orders and dioceses will go out of business because there will be no money to feed them.

When Nazi troops and tanks were marching through Poland, what did the young Karol Wojtyla do? Did he buy gold? Did he store food? Did he take up a gun?

Providentially, a mystic by the name of Jan Tyranowski introduced the future Pope to the works of St. John of the Cross and invited him to participate in a Catholic men’s group that he had formed.

The Living Rosary, created by Tyranowski, consisted of teams of fifteen young men, led by a more mature young person who received personal spiritual direction from Tyranowski. The Polish mystic, who was a simply tailor, met with the entire Living Rosary organization the third Sunday of every month. Tyranowski was able to instill in his young followers a deep spiritual life and a profound zeal for the salvation of souls.

Tyranowski’s Living Rosary organization is exactly what we need to be doing now during this intense occupation of the culture of death. Form small groups in your parish, your school or in your home. Let these small groups inspire you to go deep into the spiritual life. Let these small groups instill in you a profound zeal for the salvation of souls.

Abandon yourself into the loving hands of an awesome God that loves us unconditionally. Allow yourself to be purified. Do not let yourself be consumed by anger, fear, anxiety, frustration, discouragement or resentment. Enter into the dark night of the spirit. Do not be afraid. If you persevere, “the desert will suddenly blossom into love. Your heart will burst into song. And it will be springtime forever”.

h/t to Sanctus Belle

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Franciscan Father Kevin Tortorelli distributes ashes to a man standing in the St. Francis Breadline outside St. Francis Church in Manhattan Feb. 25. The bread line serves coffee and sandwiches to about 200 people every morning. It's been in operation since 1929. (CNS/Octavio Duran)

God will forgive, bless those who seek conversion, pope says

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

ROME (CNS) -- If people act on God's call to conversion, he will forgive them everything and bless them, Pope Benedict XVI said just before receiving ashes and distributing ashes to mark the beginning of Lent.

"As we prepare to receive the ashes on our foreheads as a sign of conversion and repentance, let us open our hearts to the life-giving action of the word of God," the pope told people gathered in Rome's Basilica of St. Sabina Feb. 25.

The evening Mass was preceded by a penitential procession from the nearby Church of St. Anselm.

In his homily, Pope Benedict said the readings chosen by the church for Ash Wednesday are meant to give guidance to Christians for the 40 days of Lent and to provide them with encouragement to follow the Lenten journey of conversion with courage.

The call to conversion is loud and clear in each part of the Ash Wednesday Mass from the opening prayer to the readings and hymns, he said.

"The promise of God is clear: If we listen to his invitation to convert, God will make his mercy triumph and his friends will be filled with innumerable blessings," the pope said.

The Gospel reading from Matthew, he said, puts Christians on guard against "ostentation and hypocrisy, superficiality and self-satisfaction, reaffirming the need to nourish an uprightness of heart."

At the same time, the Gospel explains that the way to grow in the purity of heart is to cultivate a closer relationship with God the Father, he said.

Pope Benedict said that during the year of St. Paul, marking the 2,000th anniversary of the apostle's birth, he wanted to focus in a special way on Paul's writings and conversion story.

"Paul experienced in an extraordinary way the power of the grace of God," which is also the grace of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he said.

Catholics do not pretend during Lent that they do not already know that Jesus rose from the dead, the pope said, but as they prepare for Easter they are "already enlightened by the brightness of the paschal mystery" of Jesus' death and resurrection.

A Christian's Lenten journey of conversion must be, like St. Paul's, a call from the risen Christ to change, to accept the forgiveness won by Jesus on the cross and to dedicate one's life to following him, the pope said.

St. Paul's call to refuse to allow sin to reign in one's life is an affirmation that while salvation is a free gift of God an individual must take the step of accepting that gift, he said.

"On the one hand, this affirms the victory of Christ over sin once and for all with his death and resurrection," he said, and on the other hand, Christians are exhorted to not let sin re-enter their lives.

"So that Christ may reign fully in him, the baptized person must faithfully follow his teachings; he must never let down his guard so as to ensure the adversary cannot win back any territory," Pope Benedict said.

The Lenten emphasis on prayer, almsgiving and fasting highlights the three most effective defenses against evil, he said.

The pope prayed that a more frequent reading of the Bible, more intense prayer and "an austere and penitential style of life will be a stimulus to conversion and sincere love toward our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest and neediest."

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